Avalanche Cut Stefan Elliott
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Oct 5, 2011 10:54 AM MDT
in Avalanche News & Notes
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The Avalanche made their final cut of the preseason today, sending defenseman Stefan Elliott to Lake Erie. As expected, the Avalanche also placed Kyle Cumiskey, Brandon Yip and Mark Olver on IR to bring them down to 23 players. Newcomers to make the team this year: Semyon Varlamov, JS Giguere, Shane O'Brien, Jan Hejda, Chuck Kobasew, Joakim Lindstrom and 18-year old Gabriel Landeskog. We knew Landeskog would make the team, but now we have official confirmations.
Overall, there were no surprises and the opening night roster is pretty much as we've been projecting for a few weeks now. Of course, the Avalanche kick off their 2011-2012 season on Saturday against Detroit. The Avs will be retiring Peter Forsbergs jersey that night as well as honoring Wade Belak, Ruslan Salei and Karlis Skrastins.
Although rookies like Elliott, Tyson Barrie and Brad Malone we're not able to crack the roster, expect to see them in a Colorado unipron sooner rather than later.
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I've said it once, I'll say it again
I’m okay with this so long as:
A) Hunwick is the seventh D that is benched and eating nacho’s
B) He’s put in LEM’s first D pairing and lights up the AHL
Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cups: 2
Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cups: 0
That's all that matters.
(Also, come talk to me when you've won nine straight division titles)
Send Cumiskey back to Eerie when he’s healthy…and don’t give me this crap he’ll be picked up on waivers…I pray some other team picks him up.
Paul Stastny did, what Paul Stastny does. Score big goals.
by amit916 on Oct 5, 2011 10:58 AM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Amen brother.
Colorado Avalanche Stanley Cups: 2
Vancouver Canucks Stanley Cups: 0
That's all that matters.
(Also, come talk to me when you've won nine straight division titles)
Arby’s Roast Beef? and with or without sause
by DrunkinAvsFan on Oct 5, 2011 3:07 PM MDT up reply actions
i dont think hes valuable enough to get sauce included with the deal. if we could though…. what a steal
Have another donut!
by beersam82 on Oct 5, 2011 3:12 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
Boooo!
Hopefully they will trade away Hunvick soon for a bag of used pucks or some such, otherwise we will have to wait for the first inevitable concussion of some kind to hit…
Glad that he going to get playing time in LE rather than nacho duty though.
at this point he’s the only PMD we’ve got, if he even qualifies for that term, and assuming we even need that skillset. My guess is he gets a multitude of chances to prove his worth.
Again, they kept the guy with the NHL experience in Hunwick. Anyone who didn’t think they would…well, was a bit disillusioned
Riku Hahl was over-rated
They’re disillusioned now. They were delusional.
(pet peeve. I apologize and regret nothing.)
It's all about the O'
Well, maybe he's referring to them in the past tense. Maybe they got over the disillusionment quick?
"When I got to Colorado, they just said go out and play your game, be the player that you can be, we're not going to put any restrictions on how you play. That gave me a big boost of confidence. That's something I lost in St. Louis." - Erik Johnson
The 2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: there will be blood and there will be wins.
"God I'm excited for those two to fail miserably." - SBNation writer Andrew Sharp on Josh McDaniels and Tim Tebow.
The Number Zero, now in colour. DSB Record: 1-3-0
by Tempestuous Binary on Oct 5, 2011 12:01 PM MDT up reply actions
I think it’s pretty clear that Elliott was in the running for a Top 4 defense spot, but never bottom pairing or nacho duty. His situation almost mirrors Shatty’s completely. And oddly enough, I think he’ll be just as much trade bait around deadline time as the Avs make a pitch for Weber or Parise.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
If the Avs can land Weber or Parise and keep them long term, I am most certainly willing to give up Elliott in that endeavor. There are precious few other acquisitions for whom I’d say that.
2011-2012 Lokomotiv Yaroslavl: Vyechnaya Pamyat!
2011-2012 Colorado Avalanche: The possibility exists that this may not suck.
I prefer to say that Siemens is in the pipeline.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Oct 5, 2011 1:13 PM MDT up reply actions
Siemens cocked and loaded.
4th biggest pessimist of MHH.
"There's always next season." -- Jimmy Howard on not winning the Calder Trophy.
If they pair him with Johnson, he’ll get to shoot more frequently.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Oct 5, 2011 1:30 PM MDT up reply actions
I think our Johnson can handle the pressure and carry the load. LA’s Johnson, on the other hand, can’t handle the pressure and peaked prematurely.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Oct 5, 2011 1:40 PM MDT up reply actions
I would trade SOB, ROB, Wilson and cumiskey and hunwick and porter and yip for jack Johnson right now, with no regret. He’s a good player but he needs to concentrate more on defense this year.
by the cool breeze on Oct 5, 2011 3:20 PM MDT up reply actions
…and LA would laugh in your face. None of those guys have serious value.
Some days, I feel like I’ve accidentally entered the Church of Tulowitzki on Baseball Easter.
SB Nation Denver | On Twitter | Random Music Writings
I would like JJ without his contract. JJ has negative value for that reason alone.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Oct 5, 2011 3:25 PM MDT up reply actions
The avs can afford it but I think this is a key year for him in terms of determining if he really is a dominant type player. LA is my pick in the west this year so we will see. His +/- sucked last year but he was free to crash and play offense. He’s a big dude though (225) and can skate, he’s kind of like EJ
by the cool breeze on Oct 5, 2011 3:30 PM MDT up reply actions
It’s big, and it’s long.
Johnson.
Some days, I feel like I’ve accidentally entered the Church of Tulowitzki on Baseball Easter.
SB Nation Denver | On Twitter | Random Music Writings
by Muzia on Oct 5, 2011 3:32 PM MDT up reply actions 1 recs
We are going to need a defenseman with a last name that contains balls or ballz. The the defensive core will be complete. Or maybe a forward would work better. I can just imagine the call.
“He shoots, he scores. Oh my good what a play. It will show up in the box score as Siemens from Ballz then Johnson.”
Our Johnson is bigger and better than LA's Johnson so suck it.
I like the move because it gives more ice time, thou I did want to see him play opening night. Plus I’m sure we will see him soon
Once they get their goalieness figured out, they’ll be incredible.
Just a Colorado girl in Montana who <3s the Avs.
I’m still surprised they did not get Pickard this season.
by DrunkinAvsFan on Oct 5, 2011 11:42 AM MDT up reply actions
Meter switched off?
It's all about the O'
by SteveHouse on Oct 5, 2011 12:28 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Besides the waiver situation one of the biggest reasons for this IMO is Mueller’s ability to run the point on the pp. EJ-Mueller, Quincy-Hunwick is not a terrible 4 back there but I think our pp will take a leap once these guys (Barrie, Elliott) are with the big club.
by Do Not Feed the Octopus on Oct 5, 2011 12:04 PM MDT reply actions
Eh, whatever. I was excited so see what he could do, but he should get lots of practice in his first pro season. Not the worst move
"Put stick on ice, put puck in net"
by HeyPeterman on Oct 5, 2011 12:46 PM MDT via mobile reply actions
So who won the argument between Elliot and Barrie?
Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Oct 5, 2011 1:13 PM MDT reply actions
Dater’s take on Elliott’s reassignment.
It’s…something, that’s for sure.
Some days, I feel like I’ve accidentally entered the Church of Tulowitzki on Baseball Easter.
SB Nation Denver | On Twitter | Random Music Writings
odd. I don’t think the Avs would have kept Elliott over Cumiskey even if Cumiskey was healthy.
I am the most humble blogger of all time
by David Driscoll-Carignan on Oct 5, 2011 1:30 PM MDT up reply actions
That’s a dissociated post… This was a bad move. Heres why they basically had no choice but to do it. Stupid move. Dude, pick one
It's all about the O'
by SteveHouse on Oct 5, 2011 1:37 PM MDT via mobile up reply actions
Dater's not a fan of the move
No surprise here, since he’s on record as saying Elliott would score something like 40+ points in the NHL this season.
Just a couple of comments:
Can anyone seriously give me a good argument why Cumiskey should be on this team instead of Elliott at this point?
Ooooh, ooooh! PIck me, pick me!
Mr. Dater – the good argument why Cumiskey is on this team right now is that he is injured, and injured players can’t be sent down. The good argument why Elliott is not on this team right now is that he will get a chance to play more at LEM than he would here because the Avs seem to want to give Elliott professional experience before rushing him to the NHL. He’ll play 12 minutes/game with Colorado, and nearly 20 minutes/game in LEM.
I’ll get off the soap box here and just analyze it a bit more dispassionately. Elliott deserved to stay, mostly because he’s just a better player than half the guys already on the Avs’ defensive roster.
I wouldn’t call that dispassionate. I’d call that hyperbolic. I bet Elliott’s offensive skills are indeed better than some of his fellow defensemen. I’d guess his defensive game is worse than all of them.
Matt Hunwick? All I can say is he better play well, because if the fans didn’t like him last year, they’re going to like him a lot less if he plays poorly again while taking the roster spot of a D-man with such potential, some of it having to do with waiver politics. If he doesn’t play well, Hunwick had better wear earplugs, because the heckling will be really loud this time around.
I think that’s called a strawman. Who’s saying that Elliott’s not on the roster because Matt Hunwick is? Anyway, according to Adrian’s colleague Mike Chambers (in a story that Dater linked on Twitter) Hunwick is not going to active on Saturday. When he is in the lineup, Matt Hunwick will probably play about 10-12 minutes/game. This goes to the whole putting too much emphasis on the bottom guys. I can say with near certainty that Matt Hunwick (or whoever is playing 5/6 minutes on D) is not going to cost the Avs many, if any, games.
I wouldn’t call that dispassionate. I’d call that hyperbolic.
Egg-fucking-zactly what I was just coming here to say. I know Dater’s seen the kid play, and if you tear away all the theatrics of that article, it’s not a ridiculous position. Except that he refuted his own argument by mentioning the fact that Cumiskey can’t be moved. Seems like he didn’t think too hard before publishing that one.
That’s the thing about the article. He says it’s a stupid move, but then gives every reason in the book that the move HAD to be made
Riku Hahl was over-rated
Eh, the other thing here is he spends the whole column talking about Elliott in the context of Hunwick and Cumiskey, when the actual important thing to understand is that Elliott has to be better than Wilson, O’Brien, and O’Byrne to get regular playing time. Hunwick’s not playing Saturday night. Cumiskey, if healthy, almost certainly wouldn’t be playing Saturday night.
by DiD on Oct 5, 2011 1:47 PM MDT up reply actions
That’s exactly it. It isn’t Elliott vs Cumiskey, Wilson and Hunwick. It’s Elliott vs Quincey, O’Brien and O’Bryne. He’s got to play good enough 5v5 D to not be a liability in a 3/4. I only put O’Brien in that group because surprisingly Chambers has him in the second pairing with O’Bryne in the 3rd pairing with Wilson. Anyway, it’s about being good enough defensively to handle 18 minutes. If the point play on the power play suffers Sacco might bring him back up and then he’ll have a juggling act trying to protect him, yet still getting him on the ice.
I'll keep this brief.
9.9 Dans.
I disagree with bq. I can say with near certainty that Matt Hunwick (or whoever is playing 5/6 minutes on D) is not going to cost the Avs many, if any, games.
If he plays like he did when he first got to denver, he was, I can say without hyperbole, the worst player in the NHL.
Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Oct 5, 2011 1:45 PM MDT up reply actions
If (Hunwick) plays like he did when he first got to denver, he was, I can say without hyperbole, the worst player in the NHL.
If Milan Hejduk plays like he did 10 years ago, he was one of the best goal scorers in the NHL.
Oh, and by the way – IT DOESN’T LOOK LIKE HUNWICK IS PLAYING SATURDAY NIGHT. WE HAVE UPGRADED OUR DEFENSE SO MUCH IN THE OFFSEASON THAT WE DON’T HAVE TO PLAY MATT HUNWICK 19 MINUTES/GAME. AND IF HE DOES PLAY IN THE FUTURE, IT WON’T BE AS MUCH AS THE OTHER 5 DEFENSEMEN.
by DiD on Oct 5, 2011 1:51 PM MDT up reply actions
7th defensemen are not worth yelling about.
We see a wonderful sun-soaked city nestled at the foot of the Rocky Mountains. Enos sees nickels and dimes.
by Bob in Boulder on Oct 5, 2011 1:52 PM MDT up reply actions
I’m talking about a matter of months when he was the worst player in the league and not 10 years apart.
Chip, I'm gonna come at you like a spider monkey!
by An Unmitigated Disaster on Oct 5, 2011 1:58 PM MDT up reply actions
Kevin Shattenkirk started the season in LE. Then he came up after struggling there and he ended up having a pretty good season.
I’m ok with Elliot being sent down. I’m ok with playing Hunwick 9/10 min a game. I’m not ok with him getting 20min/game.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Oct 5, 2011 2:18 PM MDT up reply actions
Who?
I am putting myself to the fullest possible use, which is all I think that any conscious entity can ever hope to do.
by Pinchy The Lobster on Oct 5, 2011 4:53 PM MDT up reply actions
The underlying point being that a rookie’s development is better served by 20 minutes/game in the AHL rather than 10 per in the NHL? I have no particular reason to doubt this, but is a widely-accepted idea? Or specific to Elliott in some way?
A player will play in the NHL when he’s ready. If Elliot’s ready, let him play. It’s been almost consensus by everyone whose seen him that he could use a little more seasoning.
Maybe
Jibblescribbits: C'mon over and waste some time
by Jibblescribbits on Oct 5, 2011 10:56 PM MDT up reply actions
Once Cumiskey is cleared to play, he'll be sent down and Elliot will return to Denver
BANK on it.
History is a collection of lies, agreed upon -- Napoleon Bonaparte
Not likely. Cumiskey is not counting against the 23 player limit as he’s on IR. Cumiskey should be waivered and sent down if unclaimed, but it won’t have any impact on Elliot
In Sherman we trust
Here is a thought for everyone. Let’s say that Wilson gets hurt and would be out for 2 weeks. Do the Avs bring up Elliot or Gaunce? The reason I ask this if you bring up Elliot he is going to at best get 8 to 10 minutes as the 6th D and at worst get to sit and eat nachos well Hunwick gets playing time. So would you rather bring up Guance who needs less development and is more proven to play as the 6th D man or sit and each nachos. Well Elliot stays down and keeps getting 20 to 24 minutes per game.
Our Johnson is bigger and better than LA's Johnson so suck it.
I had a similar thought. Would the Avs bring Elliot up unless the player lost was from the top 4? I don’t think so.
In Sherman we trust
exactly
that’s why he is in LE, he needs minutes and even Hunwick can play 7-8 minutes of decent defense so why have him there as a 6th. Next year we will have (after I blackmail Kroenke) Ryan Suter and Siemens, meaning SOB and Wilson are gone.
by the cool breeze on Oct 5, 2011 3:23 PM MDT up reply actions
We really only have a top 3, I think.
If a bottom pairing dman gets injured, they could very well give Elliott an audition with Quincey on that second pair and move Bernie down to the last pair where he belongs.
Some days, I feel like I’ve accidentally entered the Church of Tulowitzki on Baseball Easter.
SB Nation Denver | On Twitter | Random Music Writings
a thought
I don’t know the stats but I think until the injuries got really bad they weren’t too bad 5 on 5. But one big issue last year was giving up pp goals in particular and that should be better with an NHL goalie which we didn’t have for most of last year (until 2011 Vezina trophy winner Anderson was traded for zilch) and the D we have this year. It’s really a special teams game now so scoring on the PP and not getting scored on during penalty kills will likely determine their success.
Also, they sent down Elliot for waiver issues, that’s the only reason and to buy time to move a couple guys. I think they defintely will move a d-man at some point and Elliot will be up. He needs to play minutes so LE better for him in short term.
Last, I had to laugh as I saw Schenn was favored for ROY and then he got sent down! Now that’s funny.
by the cool breeze on Oct 5, 2011 3:17 PM MDT up reply actions
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